WFP food aid partnership in western Honduras, a balance beyond the figures

Last December, the food delivery process in the framework of the Country Strategic Plan – Activity 5 Emergency Response of the World Food Programme (WFP), developed in western Honduras with the support of Fundación ETEA, came to an end. This collaboration began in August 2020 on the occasion of the Covid-19 crisis and the passage of hurricanes Eta and Iota.

In this third phase of the WFP-Fundación ETEA agreement, the distribution of baskets of basic food products (flour, rice, pasta, beans, oil, canned food,…) to 1,500 beneficiary families located in the Department of Copán, specifically in the municipalities of San Juan de Opoa, Dolores, Cabañas, Copán Ruinas, Florida and San Antonio, has been coordinated. This figure adds to the 2,600 families benefited in 2020 and the 4,030 families assisted in 2021, in various municipalities of the Departments of Ocotepeque and Copán.

Stories of life on the other side of the food sacks

One of the success stories was being able to reach the less accessible communities such as El Prado, La Cumbre, San Juan, where each of the beneficiaries had to travel more than an hour on foot, as far as the vehicle could reach. No matter how difficult it was to get there, many of the beneficiaries were already elderly men and women who came to the delivery site with their families to bring each sack of food“, says Walther Melgar, Fundación ETEA technician involved in the food delivery. And he adds: “I could feel good that I was able to help others, it is the best thing because although my work was paid, for me the most important thing was to do everything possible to get there by crossing rivers full and risking my own life… the value of each basket is nothing compared to the effort made to achieve the delivery of food aid“.

Mrs Teresa Urbina Alas, 42 years old and mother of a 12 year old boy and an 8 year old girl, lives in the community of Hichules, in the municipality of San Juan de Opoa (Department of Copán), with her husband who is missing a limb from his body (his right arm). Her mother-in-law, who is over 80 years old, also lives under the same roof. She does housework and takes care of the children, while her husband, who is physically handicapped, cultivates basic grains. “I thank all those who made this food delivery possible and for taking us into account as beneficiaries. We are happy because our children will have tasty food“, says Mrs. Teresa.

In the community of San Isidro, municipality of Copán Ruinas, lives Mr. Vidal López, 69 years old and disabled in one leg due to an accident after falling from a tree. When the surveys were carried out, he had been left out of the families identified as beneficiaries, as his house is far from the village and nobody remembered him. After the day of the surveys, someone commented to him “yesterday a boy went from house to house asking for everyone on the list” and he responded by asking “why wasn’t I there?“. The community leader told him that he had forgotten to include him the day he had sent the list to the municipality of Copán. Mr. Vidal then asked, “Don’t you know how I can get access to a provision?“. The leader then called the Fundación ETEA technician, Wilmer Landaverde, and asked him to include Mr. Vidal. Wilmer then asked for the cédula and included him. Thanks to the inclusion of his details, the following Monday it was possible to deliver the aid bag to him. On receiving it, he said “I never lost hope that they would help me because I sincerely need it, since I take care of my foot, 2 grandchildren, my daughter and my wife in spite of my health problem“. Mr. Vidal López lost his grains (maize and beans) due to the rains and was unable to harvest.